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(No Model.) a sheets sheet 1.

W. P. SMITH.

Oar Brake.

No. 233,036. 7 Patented Oct. 5,1880.

FIG.I.

N. PEFERs, PHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER, WASHKNG'TON, D c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. 1?. SMITH. Oar Brake.

Patented Oct. 5, 1880'.

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N PETERS, PHOTC-LITHQGRAPHEi, WASHINGTON. D, c.

(No Model.) 3 sheets sheet 3.

W. P. SMITH.

Gar Brake.

No. 233,036. Pa'tent ed Oct. 5,1880.

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UNITED STATES ATENT Trice,

\VALTER P. SMITH, OF LOSTWITHIEL, ENGLAND.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,036, dated October 5, 1880. Application filed August 9, 1880. (No model.) Patented in England January 31, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER PAR-KER SMITH, of Lostwithiel, in the county of Cornwall, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Brake Apparatus for Railway and other Carriages, (for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 434, hearing date January 31, 1880,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to brake apparatus for railway and other carriages, so constructed and arranged that the power for putting on the brakes is derived from the revolution of a running axle of the carriage, or of a shaft driven by gearing from one of the running axles, the means of communicating motion to the brakes being so contrived that the brakes can be applied whether the carriage and its wheels are running in the one direction or the other. The several sets of brake apparatus belonging to a number of carriages constitutin g a train can also be connected by a coupled shaft, or by a chain or cord connected throughout the train, so that all the brakes can be applied simultaneously by a guard or driver, or in case of accidental separation of the train, whereby the connection is broken, the brakes will apply themselves automatically.

I will describe the apparatus as applied to one of the rui'ining axles of a railway-carriage, referring to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a front elevation; Fig. 2, a side elevation; Fig. 3, a plan. Figs. 4:, 5,6, 7, and 8 are transverse sections, respectively, on the lines X, Y, Z, WV, and V of Fig. 1; and Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of the middle part of the axle and its attachments at W. In all these figures the same parts are marked with similar reference-letters.

A is one of the running axles, about the middle of which is fitted loosely a sleeve, B, having a screw -thread cut on its exterior. The sleeve B is kept from sliding toward the right by a ring, P, clamped on the axle, and it extends toward the left till it terminates in four key-shaped segments fitting in the conical casing of a cone, 0, which is keyed on the axle A. At the side of the conical casin g there is a ring, D, and also a ring, E, both of which are free to revolve round the sleeve B; but the ring D is prevented from revolving by a notch in it engaging with a frame, J, of the stationary framing of the apparatus. The ring E has projecting from it a lever-arm, which is connected by a spring to a weight, T, that is suspended from an arm, S, projecting from a spindle, R. The ring E has also part of its periphery toothed to gear with a pinion, M, on a spindle, N. The meeting faces of the rings D and E are formed with inclined clutch-teeth, so that when the arm of E is allowed to move downward, in obedience to the weight T, the ring D is, by the obliquity of the clutch-teeth, pushed toward the left, and thus the conical casing is pushed onto the cone 0, and caused by the frictional contact to revolve with it.

The spindle N is mounted in a framing, J, which has bearings I, inclosing the sleeve B, and has arms Q projecting upward into slots in the frame 9 of the carriage. These arms Q, being free to move up or down in the slots, allow the carriageframe to oscillate relatively to the axle A; but they prevent the framing J from turning round the axle.

A sliding block, H, is fitted to inclose the sleeve B and the spindle N, and within this block is fitted to slide vertically a. part-nut, G, which has a cam-slot, in which works a roller mounted on an arm, 0, which is keyed on the spindle N. Thus when the spindle N 'is turned partly round in one direction, the

roller working in the cam-slot pushes up the part-nut G, so that it engages with the screwthread of the sleeve B, and when N is turned in the opposite direction the part'nut G is retracted and disengaged from the screw-thread ot' B.

To the block H are connected, by chains, the longer arms of levers K, that work in guides L, attached to the framing J. The shorter arms of the levers K are connected by bolts U to bars W, which are attached to the brake-levers, or to any moving part of the ordinary brake-gear. The bolts U, being free to be pushed through holes in the bars W, but having on them nuts which prevent them from being drawn through these holes, operate on the bars WV only when they are pulled, and by pulling the bars W the brakes are put on.

The spindle R, carried by brackets V, extends along the vehicle, and has on it at convenient places arms, by whichit can be turned partly round by the action of an attendant on the carriage. Also, the spindles R of the successive carriages of a train may be coupled or connected by a chain or cord from carriage to carriage by any of the arrangements usually adopted for continuous brakes.

As the arms S of the spindles R are loaded by the weights T, whenever the spindles R are left free, either purposely by the action of a guard or driver or by the accidental fracture of the connections which retain them in their normal position, the arms S descend in obedience to the weights T and cause the brakes to be applied, as I will now describe.

By the descent of the weight T the arm of the ring E is made to descend, turning E partly round to a position such as is shown in Fig. 6. From this partial rotation of the ring E two results are produced First, by the action of theinclined clutch-teeth the ringD is pushed to the left, and thus the conical casing is engaged with the cone 0, so that the sleeve 13,

which is keyed to the conical casing, is caused to revolve along with the axle A secondly, the toothed gearing on E causes the pinion M and its spindle N to turn partly round, and thus the arm 0 is made to push the part-nut G into gear with the screw-thread on B. As B is now revolvingwhile the nutGis engaged with it, the sliding block H is caused to move to the right or to theleft, according as the axle A is revolvingin the one direction or the other. By this lateral movement of the block H the levers K are moved on their fulcra, and thus one or other of the bolts U, that are linked to these levers, is drawn inward, pulling the bars W, and through them the brake-levers, causing the brakes to be applied. The force with which they are applied will obviously depend on the frictional hold of the casing and cone 0, operating as a friction-clutch for driving the sleeve B, and as the casing will be pressed more forcibly on the cone the farther the arm of the ring E is permitted to descend, so, by more or less movement of the spindle R,allowing greater or less descent of the arm E, the brakes can be applied with more or less force. To permit this variation in the movement of the ring E, which necessarily varies the motion of the pinion Mandits spindleN,thec-amslot in the part-nut G is made, as shown in Fig. 7, with its first part nearly straight, and the rest of it a circular arch struck from the center of N. As the arm 0 turns round that center, the first part of its movement, acting in the straight part of the slot, serves to move up the slide, so as to engage the part-nut with the screw-thread of B 5 but during the rest of its movement there is merely a dwell, retaining the nut engaged, but not forcing it farther into gear. Thus, after the nut is engaged by the first part of the descending movement of the arm of E, the farther descent of that arm to increase the brake-power by pressing the easing more forcibly on the cone C does not affeet the engagement of the part-nut with the screw-thread of B.

For the purpose of taking off the brakes, the spindle R is turned partly round, so as to raise its arm S. The ring Ebeingthus turned backward permits the release of the coneclutch O, and also disengages the nut G from B, and the brakes being retracted by a weight or spring in the usual way, the bolts U, levers K, and sliding block H are restored to their normal condition.

Although I have described my brake apparatus applied to the running axle of a railwaycarriage, it might obviously be applied to the running axle of a tramway-car or other vehicle, or, instead of being applied directly to a running axle, it might be applied to a shaft driven by gearing from such an axle, or from the running wheel of a Vehicle.

Having thus described the nature of 1n yinvention, and the best means I know of putting it in practice, I claim- 1. The combination, with a running axle of a vehicle, or with a shaft driven by gearing from a running axle or running wheel of a vehicle, of the screwed sleeve B, the cone-clutch O, the clutch-rings D and E and the loaded arm and teeth of the latter, the pinion M and its spindle N, with arm 0, working in the camslot of the part-nut Gr, fitted in the sliding" block H, and the levers K, linked to the block H and to the brake-gear, constructed and operating substantially as described.

2. The combination of the spindle R and its arm S with the loaded arm of therin'g E, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said WALTER PARKER SMITH, have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribin g witnesses, this 23d day of July, A. D. 1880.

WALTER PARKER SMITH.

Witnesses JONATHAN HUGILL, JOHN BAEN,

Both of Lostwithiel. 

